Persnickety Florists, Rainbow Lorikeets Can Take Upwards Of An Hour To Select The Perfect Flowers For

Persnickety florists, Rainbow Lorikeets can take upwards of an hour to select the perfect flowers for their seasonal arrangements. Using their sensitive tongues they can accurately determine which flowers will endure display the longest before withering, and their scissorlike beaks can swiftly nip through even the toughest of stems.

Palm Warblers use their incredibly sensitive feet to check fallen logs for burrowing grubs or caterpillars. Able to locate a likely meal through as much as six inches of wood, a Palm Warbler’s foot is perhaps the most perceptive in the bird world. Unfortunately this astounding sensitivity comes at the cost of normal use, leading to the characteristic ‘palm walking’ which gives these tiny warblers their name.

A relative of the common duck, the Hooded Merganser is a marvel to fashionistas and theoretical physicists alike. While there is some debate as to whether it is simply their sense of style or rather their entire corporeal being that is stuck in the 1980s, everyone can agree these devotees of punk rock have impeccable taste in music.

Approximately ten percent of Semipalmated Plover chicks are hatched with a congenital wing deformity. This mutation can occur in one or both wings, and can present as mildly as an inability to fully retract or as severe as permanent extension. While it greatly slows their ability to migrate, these plucky birds are still able to catch up to the flock in time for breeding season.

With bent beaks testifying to their clumsiness, Pied Avocets will often trip over small rocks and driftwood while chasing down minuscule crabs and beach insects. Fortunately this cosmetic damage is impermanent, as their beaks are lined with a sponge-like network of veins and capillaries which ‘re-inflate’ the beak within an hour or so of bending.

The Southern Bald Ibis is a phenomenally ill-tempered bird native to the semi-deserts and grasslands of southern Africa. It is hypothesized their aggressive nature stems from a lack of fine motor control and general inflexibility, which prevents self-application of sun-blocking lotion to their featherless pate. Zookeepers who diligently apply sunblock to captive specimens have reported a markedly positive change in temperament commensurate with reduced sunburn, but to date no formal studies have been conducted.